Today's Family & Kids Activities in Rockland-May 18

May 18, 2013
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Whatever you're looking to do with your family and kids-libraries, festivals, museums, arts & crafts-you'll find it in today's list of fun and educational activities for families and kids in Rockland. Check out the NY Metro Parents' calendar for upcoming events!

Hear Andrew Weil, MD, a world-renowned leader in the field of integrative medicine, share fascinating experiences and offer unique perspectives on the power of plants to maximize well being and quality of life. A book signing will follow the program. All-Garden Pass also includes admission to the Enid A. Haupt Conservatory, Everett Children's Adventure Garden, Rock Garden, and Tram Tour.

Families are invited to stop by the nature center to look for warblers and other spring migrants that are passing through. Beginning birders are welcome on this guided walk led by a member of the Bergen County Audubon Society. Meet in the parking lot.

This class is ideal for couples with limited time to attend childbirth classes, with 6-hour sessions held on Saturday and Sunday. Class content includes relaxation, breathing techniques, and coaching techniques. Includes tour of Nyack Hospital's Maternity Center. Registration is required.

Experiment with colorful fabrics that have been dyed using beets and flowers, and create a simple weaving. Visiting artist Tomoe Matsuoka - creator of Wave Hill's beautiful Family Art Project Puppet Theater - assembles a large canopy to which you may add your own weaving. Free, and admission to the grounds is free until 12pm.

In the late 18th century, British artists developed the large-scale panorama, which became a popular form of entertainment in Europe and the United States. The Hudson River Museum's exhibition, "The Panoramic River: the Hudson and the Thames," explores the panoramic vista as the ideal expression for a new, all-embracing way of seeing the landscape that influenced how the public and artists perceived it as well. By the early 19th century, painters such as Robert Havell Jr. worked to express this panoramic perspective in their choice and depiction of vistas. Havell and other artists in the exhibition such as Thomas Cole, Jasper Cropsey, and John Kensett, favored the chain of cities, suburbs, and countryside along these two rivers, where horizontal planes and historical associations gave form to both artistic and cultural expression.
"The Panoramic River" features loans from museums, galleries, and private collections. Museums lending paintings include: Baltimore Museum of Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Fenimore Art Museum, The Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center at Vassar College; Maryland State Archives; Metropolitan Museum of Art; The New-York Historical Society; and Princeton University Art Museum.
"The Panoramic River" is organized by Hudson River Museum co-curators Bartholomew Bland, Director of Curatorial Affairs, and Laura Vookles, Chief Curator of Collections. The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalogue with additional essays by Pat Hardy, Curator of Paintings, Prints and Drawings, Museum of London, and Geoff Snell, Doctoral Student, University of Sussex and the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, England.
The exhibition and the accompanying catalogue have been made possible by a generous grant from the Mr. and Mrs. Raymond J. Horowitz Foundation for the Arts, Inc. On view through May 19, 2013.

The JCC is seeking local teens for its weekly internet radio show, Jake Talks. Students will cover news and "hot topics" while having fun and learning the ins and outs of radio broadcasting. The show airs live each Monday at 5pm. Hear the show at rocklandworldradio.com. Listeners can call in to share their views by dialing 845-353-2910. Interested participants should contact Cathie Izen at cathiei@jccrockland.org, 845-362-4400 extension 103. Each Monday through May 20.

Get ready to zoom, spin, splash, swing, and soar your way through acres of amusement park rides from the cooling log flume, to the famous Dragon Coaster, and all your other favorites!
Admission Prices:
- $15 Weekends: May 11, 12, 18 and 19: $15 unlimited rides; $15 Junior (under 48")
- Starting Friday, May 24: $30 unlimited rides; $20 Junior (under 48") Spectator admission (no rides) is free for Westchester County residents and $10 for non-residents.
Season Passes:
- $95 for unlimited rides all season, with a $15 discount for Westchester residents.
- $35 for spectator admission all season (no rides), for non-residents of Westchester County.
Acceptable proof of Westchester residency is a Westchester County Park Pass; New York State driver's license or non-driver ID; or a photo ID or report card from a Westchester County school.
Playland's pre-season schedule is 12-7pm, Saturdays and Sundays until Memorial Day weekend, after which the spring schedule begins. For the season schedule go to ryeplayland.org or call the park at 914-813-7000. Use the website link to join the Playland E-Club and receive valuable discounts all season long.

Creative activities inspired by the Museum's collections and exhibitions led by Jr. Docents on three Saturdays from 1-4pm: May 4, 11, and 18. Be a Maker and a Tinkerer! Make machines and robots from controllers, motors, and wires found in the Planetarium's storerooms. Participants' creative inventions will be shown on Astronomy Day, May 19th.

Creative activities inspired by the Museum's collections and exhibitions led by Jr. Docents on two Sundays from 1-4pm: May 5 and 12. Led by local artist Dahlia Broul, participants create a large-scale panoramic mural as well as their own miniature panoramas or pocket size "endless landscapes" to take home.

The school invites mothers and their pre-schoolers to this weekly playgroup with music & movement, arts & crafts, celebrations of the Jewish holidays, and Hebrew stories. Group meets each Wednesday through June 5.

Home schooled children ages 5-12 will discover ecological and biological principles and gain an appreciation and understanding of the natural world at this monthly program, held the first Thursday of each month. Each two-hour program will consist of indoor and outdoor hands-on learning and close observations on a 380-acre living museum. Space is limited and pre-registration is required. Parents can sign up for the series or just a single session. Through June 6.

NOTE NEW DATES! Winner of five Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Subtitled "A Musical Fable of Broadway," the show is set in the colorful world of New York City in the mid 20th century. "Guys and Dolls" is populated with gangsters and gamblers, missionary dolls, and beautiful showgirls, and has one of the great musical scores in American theatre. Including Frank Loesser's hits "Luck Be A Lady," "Guys and Dolls," "If I Were A Bell," and "Sit Down, You're Rockin' The Boat." Show runs through June 6, 2013. Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday matinees including lunch; Thursday, Friday Saturday, and Sunday Evenings including dinner.

kids pre-school through second grade can sing Shabbat songs, talk about the Torah portion of the week, have a snack, then return to the main sanctuary to lead the congregation in Adon Olam. Saturdays through June 15.

Rod Benders Car Club of New York hosts this popular, summertime event each Wednesday evening through September 11. Check out the cool cars as well as vendors, food, entertainment, raffles, and more. Evenings are family-friendly and pets are welcome.

Kykuit, the six-story stone house and rolling hilltop estate that served as home to four generations of Rockefellers, is open to visitors beginning Saturday, May 4, through Sunday, Sep. 30, and Nov. 1-11. Open daily Oct 1-31. Kykuit's modern and classical art collection, architecture, and expansive gardens are consistently rated the top attraction in the lower Hudson Valley, and draw tens of thousands of visitors annually. Kykuit, which means "lookout" in Dutch, includes a six-story stone house, multiple terraced gardens, art galleries, outdoor classical and modern sculpture, and commanding Hudson River views. Its hilltop location overlooking the Hudson River and the Palisades is 500 feet above sea level. Visitors to Kykuit learn the story of the Rockefellers, beginning with John D. Rockefeller, founder of Standard Oil, whose business acumen made him the richest man in America in his day. He later became the country's first great philanthropist. By his death in 1937, he had given away more than half his fortune through various philanthropic programs. Visitors can choose from four tours: Classic, Grand, Timesaver, and Selected Highlights. The Classic, ideal for first-time visitors, is a shorter experience than the comprehensive, three-hour Grand. Besides the mansion, both of these tours include time in Kykuit's art galleries, gardens, and Coach Barn, with its collection of horse-drawn carriages, vintage automobiles, and equestrian equipment. The 90-minute Timesaver is ideal for those on tighter schedules, while Selected Highlights maximizes time in the gardens. Visitors can buy tickets online in advance, choosing the exact tour, time, and date they want to visit. Tickets are on sale at hudsonvalley.org. Historic Hudson Valley recommends advanced ticket buying, particularly for weekend tours, which fill up quickly. Besides online, tickets may be purchased by calling 914-631-8200 (service charge additional) or at the Kykuit Visitor Center at Philipsburg Manor in Sleepy Hollow. All tours start at the Kykuit Visitor Center; doors open at 9am.

Families are invited to learn about nature in a fun interactive way. Each guidebook sends participants looking for clues along nature center trails, which range from casual to challenging. Saturdays and Sundays through November.

Jill will help artists of all ages design seasonal or holiday-themed crafts. Her selection includes jewelry boxes, candy dishes, mugs, plates, picture frames, vases, and more. Pieces can be taken home that day or left for glazing. Fee includes instruction. Pre-registration is requested. Toddler workshops are held each Monday and Tuesday. All-ages workshops are held each Friday.

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Share your story in the Caring Kids Awards program and be recognized for the giving back that you do. This program celebrates the many good deeds that families do together to teach their children the importance of helping others. 8 families will be recognized win given $500 as a special thank you. Caring Kids Awards.